Gateless Gate 36

202
Gateless Gate (Mumonkan, Wumenguan) #36
Meeting One Who Has Accomplished the Way

Personnel and Date

• WUZU "Qingyuan" Fayan (Goso Hôen, 1024-1104, 20th gen), disciple of Baiyun Shouduan
Date guess: ca. 1085

Case

Wuzu said, “If you meet a person on the path who has accomplished the Way, do not greet the person with words or silence. Tell me, how will you greet that person?”

Wumen's Comment

If you can answer this question fittingly, you are certainly to be congratulated. But if you cannot, you should look for it attentively, wherever you are.

Wumen's Verse

Meeting on the path a person who has accomplished the Way,
Do not greet the person with words or silence:
I will punch you in the face:
If you realize, realize on the spot.

Xiangyan's Verse (Aitken)

Clear, lucid, with no hindrance whatsoever;
standing all by yourself, you don’t rely on anything.
If you meet a man or woman of the Tao on the road,
make your greeting with neither words nor silence.

Aitken's Comment

Wuzu is here echoing the challenge made in Xiangyan's verse: the Xiangyan who put us up a tree in GG5 to pose the dilemma of speaking or not speaking. We find many other cases that deal overtly with speech and silence. In GG24, Fengxue quotes a poem when challenged to transcend speech and silence, subject and object. In GG32, the Buddha presents his gracious silence in response to a similar question. In BCR70, BCR71, and BCR72 we find three cases of Baizhang asking his attendants in turn, “How would you say something with your lips and throat closed?”
Linji explores the matter further and cautions us not to fling muddy water on such an occasion: “Meeting someone attained in the Dao on the road, above all don’t take up the Dao.”
What kind of responses do you make to family members and Dharma friends?
With his challenge, Wuzu can be said to be pointing to the seasoned way of Yünmen—whose responses, it is said, fit situations as a lid fits its box: lucid and clear, not relying on anything or anybody, turning the Dharma Wheel all by himself. When meeting a student of the Dao, he did not make his greetings in any relative manner — with speech or silence — but came forth zestfully from the ground of his joyous mind.

Yuelin's Verse (Cleary)

Those who come talking about right and wrong
Are themselves right and wrong people:
How true are these words!
Sport with things unconcerned with their names.

Cleary's Comment

Try to notice everything all around you as a total field of awareness for a period of ten days or so, then you may well see for yourself why what you experience cannot be expressed in words, yet cannot be relegated to silence.

Guo Gu's Comment

Some people think gestures are better. That is wrong! No words, silence, or gesture. The point is to place yourself in a situation in which you can neither advance nor retreat, speak or shut up, act or not act. How do you respond?
Why should you think an “awakened” person is any different from another? Who is discriminating between this and that? Is awakening special? Is delusion ordinary? In Chan, all beings are intrinsically awakened, free. In the midst of your daily life, how do you greet your family members, friends, colleagues, boss, and the coffee shop clerk? Are you stuck by your categories of awakened versus deluded, words versus silence, action versus inaction? Please don’t be.
Engaged in Chan, a way or path unfolds, along which you can live in peace and fulfillment. Where can you find this way or path? It is not limited to the cushion or in meditation halls. Take your practice outside, into the world. It is there that life unfolds and is fulfilled. Be intimate with all situations of life, and there will be fulfillment. You discover that everyone is that “person who has fulfilled the way.”
Don’t get so caught up with the past or with the categories you impose on people. Don’t take away the precious moment in the present with baggage from the past. You will then be free to respond and “greet the person who has fulfilled the way.” Any way of greeting will do.
Meeting someone who has fulfilled the way is a simple act of everyday life. If you ask me, a simple handshake would do.

Low's Comment Sekida's Comment Senzaki's Comment Shibiyama's Comment Yamada's Comment Hotetsu's Verse Hotetsu's Verses on Koans

Appendix: Alternate Translations

Case

Wuzu said, “If you meet a person on the path who has accomplished the Way, do not greet the person with words or silence. Tell me, how will you greet that person?”

Aitken: Wu-tsu said, “When you meet someone attained in the Tao on the road, do not make your greeting with words or with silence. How will you make your greeting?”

Cleary: Wuzu said, "On the road, when you encounter people who have attained the Way, you do not face them with speech or silence. So tell me, how do you face them?"

Guo Gu: Master Wuzu said, “If on the road you meet a person who has fulfilled the way, greet this person with neither words nor silence. Tell me, how will you respond?”

Hinton: Fifth-Patriarch Mountain said: “You meet a sage-master of Buddha-Way on the road, meet him not with words and not with silence. Right now: speak up! Tell me! How do you meet him?”

Low: Goso said, “When you meet a man of the Way on the way, do not greet him with words do not greet him with silence. Tell me how will you greet him?”

Sekida: Goso said, “When you meet a man of the Way on the path, do not meet him with words or with silence. Tell me, how will you meet him?”

Senzaki: Goso said, “When you meet a Zen master on the road, you cannot speak, you cannot remain silent. What will you do?”

Shibayama: Goso said, “If you meet a man of Tao on the way, greet him neither with words nor with silence. Now tell me, how will you greet him?”

Verse

Meeting on the path a person who has accomplished the Way, /Do not greet the person with words or silence: /I will punch you in the face: /If you realize, realize on the spot.

Aitken: Meeting someone attained in the Tao on the road, /don’t make your greeting with words or with silence; /a punch in the jaw! /If you want to realize — just realize.

Cleary: On the road, meeting people who've attained the Way, /You do not face them with speech or silence: /Punch them right in the jaw; /If they understand directly, then they understand.

Guo Gu: If on the road you meet a person who has fulfilled the way, /Don’t greet this person with words or silence. /Hold his jaw and give a nice blow on the side of his face. /If you understand this directly, then you know its (meaning).

Hinton: You meet a sage-master of Way on the road, /meet him not with words and not with silence: /bloody his face, break his jaw, and suddenly /you’ll understand it all with such deep ease.

Low: Meeting a man of the Way on the road, /Meet him with neither words nor silence. /A punch on the jaw: /Understand if you can directly.

Sekida: Meeting a man of the Way on the road, /Meet him with neither words nor silence. /A punch on the jaw: /Understand, if you can directly understand.

Senzaki: Meeting a Zen master on the road, /Respond neither with words nor with silence. /Give him an uppercut /And you will be one who understands Zen.

Shibayama: If you meet a man of Tao on the way, /Greet him neither with words nor with silence. /I’ll give him with my fist the hardest blow I can — /Get it at once, get it immediately!